Marinol

Inroduction to biochemistry
03 December 2012
MARINOL
Tetrahydrocannabinol, aka THC, aka delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol This drug was not manufactured to cure anything, “It makes very ill people feel better”. Most people who suffer from disease also from the accumulation of the experience of suffering. Cannabis seems to be a treatment mostly for symptomatic relief from many neurological functions including pain. It is not usually curative. Since pain accompanies most disease processes at some time during their course, pain accounts for probably the greatest single indication for Cannabis. Pain also increases anxiety. Marinol is a brand name for dronabinal, which is manufactured (synthetic) THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. It is used for a number of different illnesses and medical conditions. The most common use of the drug is to increase the appetite of those who are having difficulty eating due to their condition or due to treatment of a condition. HIV/AIDS is a common illness that responds well to Marinol treatment. It is also useful for some patients who are fighting cancer and need to go through chemotherapy treatment. Since Marinol prevents severe weight loss it can help increase the survival rate of some illnesses and conditions that are responsible for appetite and weight loss. This drug has been used successfully to treat people with the following: Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Spinal Cord Injuries, Glaucoma, Eating disorders (themarinol.com). The pharmacological actions of THC result from its partial agonist activity at the cannabinoid receptor CB1, located mainly in the central nervous system, and the CB2 receptor, mainly expressed in cells of the immune system (Pertwee). THC has mild to moderate analgesic effects, and cannabis can be used to treat pain by altering transmitter release on dorsal root ganglion…...

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...extract to be used as an analgesic. Marijuana was even marketed by Grimault and Company as a remedy for asthma. When we could create synthetic drugs such as aspirin and other barbiturates herbal remedies became more obsolete. We stopped using natural elements in favor of something man-made or unnatural. You’re probably saying to yourself, “All this is fine and dandy but how is marijuana effective in treating medical aliments today?” Marinol is a drug that uses the THC found in the cannabis plant. It is a drug that was initially created and approved by the FDA to treat the nausea and vomiting that patients going through chemotherapy develop. After Marinol’s production it was found that the drug was also useful in treating AIDS wasting. AIDS wasting is occurs when a person infected with AIDS looses more than 10% of their body weight. (Mostly muscle) Alstimer patients are benefiting from its use as well Marinol has been found beneficial in treating appetite loss and behavioral disturbances associated with the disease.
“Another likely market for Marinol consists of people with AIDS who receive combination antiretroviral therapy. For these patients Dronabinol offers a double benefit: not only does the drug stimulate appetite, it also appears to relieve nausea and vomiting, common side effects of the standard daily doses of antiretroviral drugs. Unimed is presently conducting a Phase II study in this area; if the results are promising, the company plans to seek FDA approval for......

...failure after long term use. Cancer patients with pain are often nauseated in addition to their pain so the side effects of these drugs are even harder on them. Another potential side effect of pain drugs is death by overdose. There has never been a documented case of overdosing on marijuana.
Marijuana has pain relieving qualities along with an appetite enhancing feature. In fact,
the drug Marinol is a synthetic cannabinoid in pill form. According to Paul Armentano, Senior
Analyst of NORML/NORML foundation “The active ingredient in Marinol, synthetic delta-
9-tetrahyrdocannabinol (THC), is an analogue of one such compound, THC. However,
several other cannabinoids available in cannabis -- in addition to naturally occurring
terpenoids (oils) and flavonoids (phenols) -- have also been clinically demonstrated to
possess therapeutic utility. Many patients favor natural cannabis to Marinol because it
includes these other therapeutically active cannabinoids.” (Marinol vs. Natural Plant.
Updated 2005. Retrieved from the NORML website April 10, 2012). Marinol is given to cancer patients to increase their appetite and is very expensive, possibly $600 to $1,000 a month for treatment.
Marijuana is not without possible side effects, as with nearly any medicine, but the side effects are usually mild and mental rather than physical. If a patient suffers from side effects of any drug the next step is to weigh the benefits the drug has against the......

...considered safe and effective as medicine, and Marijuana has not been approved by this process. The government thinks that Marijuana supporters are using the medical Marijuana “angle” as a ploy to get the whole drug legalized for recreational use. I can see where this would be a valid question.
.
Those who oppose the legalization of justify Marijuana’s prohibition with the decision that if the FDA hasn’t approved it, I must not be safe to use. They express that Marinol, a synthetic form of THC, can be used as an alternative to Marijuana and makes the whole plant unnecessary, but I believe that was only created to put money into the government pockets. Why would you create something that has the same attributes of something else, if that something else was is thought to be so bad? There have been many claims that Marinol, a synthetic form of THC, abolishes the need for Marijuana to be used as a medicine, but it has been shown that it is just not as effective as smoking. Marinol is a pill. The use of Marinol is counter- productive to those who use Marijuana to suppress nausea and vomiting. This is due to the fact that the pills get vomited out because they simply take too long to work, entirely defeating the purpose of taking the medicine.
Those who are against Marijuana legalization for all purposes believe that it is harmful to the users and should remain illegal. They say that Marijuana is bad on the heart. Within a few minutes after smoking marijuana, the heart......

...marijuana is not lethal, prescription and even non-prescription pills, powders, liquids, and injections are. (Medical Marijuana Project, 2012).
A CBS news editorial by Dr. Mitch Earleywine mentions that medical marijuana can be marked cheaper to use than certain prescription drugs. This is especially relevant to patients in chronic pain who do not have medical insurance and need to pay out of pocket to see a doctor for a basic pain killer prescription. While THC, an active ingredient of marijuana, is available and viewed as legal, the FDA approved prescription drug Marinol, medical marijuana is substantially cheaper than Marinol. (Medical Marijuana Mall USA, 2013).
A number of prescription drugs are available and have the same benefits as marijuana. For instance, an active ingredient of marijuana is prescribed as the drug Marinol and is used in the treatment of nausea and loss of appetite. While Marinol is effective for treatment of nausea, it is taken as a pill, which can be a challenge for patients who have problems with ingestion, whereas inhalation of marijuana smoke or vapor poses no problem. It takes more time for orally administered drugs to cycle through the body to relieve pain, nausea and symptoms of glaucoma compared to inhaled vapor or smoke from marijuana. Medications are not healthy and create a host of health problems in millions of people. (Medical Marijuana Mall USA, 2013).
Under Federal law, only FDA-approved medications are legal to......

...Department of Agriculture to emphatically fall back on raids on dispensaries, and to conduct raids only on businesses abusing the dispensary system.
Who is it to say the government can play the role of God and decide if a person is in pain or not? As West Virginia is not one of the thirteen states that medical marijuana is legal, it should be for the reason of high population of cancer patients. Speaking from experience with my mother who had multiplemyoloma, bone cancer, who was in a lot of pain and would hardly ever eat due to the nausea. The doctor eventually prescribed her Marinol, which is a marijuana pill, FDA approved for nausea, vomiting, and appetite stimulation for chemotherapy patients. After prescribing the Marinol pill she felt a little better over time, she was not in as much pain, and was not so nauseous. The next month she went back to the Oncologist and with the Marinol working as well as it did, he had upped the dosage, over the next few weeks she had her appetite back, more energy, and felt more like herself again. What I am trying to say is, if the Government can legalize medical marijuana in thirteen states, why not all fifty? I have seen the effects of how it works on people who actually need it for medical reasons opposed to recreational reasons. If you have a medical condition to where it would help you, then you should be able to use medical marijuana to ease your pain and give you an appetite for food. Again I am speaking from......

...to Cannabis MD (2008), “during the early days of the American colonies, industrial hemp products became indispensable to the world trade; hemp was a government-mandated crop” (para 26). Two of the United States past Presidents, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson had “repeatedly extolled the many virtues of hemp” (para 31). The Marijuana Tax Act outlawed the use of hemp in any manner by imposing a prohibitive tax (Cannabis MD, 2008).
Marijuana and Tetrohydrocannibinol (THC)
There are several diseases that medical professionals use marijuana for treatment. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), approved a prescription pill, named Marinol in 1985. There is, “however” a slower effect from the drug by taking the Marinol pill orally other than smoking marijuana. The Marinol pill takes awhile to get the full effect. Marinol has to build up in a patients system. A marijuana plant contains more than 60 cannabinoids with the most effective being Tetrohydrocannibinol (THC), cannabiol (CBD), and cannibinol (CBN), each of these provide benefits to patients. The National Academy of Science, Institute of Medicine, (1999) “HIV and AIDS patients have to maintain a healthy appetite, and body weight to avoid certain infections.” Cannabis appears to help with the loss of a person’s appetite, nausea, and pain. In “April 2000, Canada approved cannabis for AIDS-related anorexia” also for the nausea and vomiting with the cancer chemotherapy treatment in 1988” (para 6). The......

...intoxicant in the 1920s and 1930s. During this time, exaggerated accounts of violent crimes allegedly committed by immigrants intoxicated by marijuana became popularized by tabloid newspapers and the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Congress approved the "Marihuana Tax Act of 1937" based almost entirely on this propaganda and misinformation.
d. Who is affected?
iv. Patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, paraplegia, epilepsy, and quadriplegia
e. What are its effects?
v. The illegalization of natural cannabis forces those suffering from severe diseases to use medications that have only a fraction of the pain-relieving cannabinoids that cannabis has naturally, i.e. Marinol (dronabinol) , which is the only US FDA-approved synthetic cannabinoid and is often marketed as a legal pharmaceutical alternative to cannabis
f. Where did it begin, or where is it most problematic?
vi. Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug of choice in the United States despite 60 years of criminal prohibition.
g. What do your readers need to know about it?
i. MRW09/10
ii. Responsible marijuana smokers present no threat or danger to America, and there is no reason to treat them as criminals. To do so is to wage war without cause against a significant segment of our nation's adult population. Speaking before Congress on the 40th anniversary of marijuana prohibition -- August 2,......

...in the treatment of nausea and vomiting have shown to be very effective for many patients, especially because the cannabinoids appear to act directly upon CB1receptors in the area postrema, where usually vomiting and nausea is triggered and now is inhibited by the cannabinoids. Particularly, antiemetic effects of the synthetics Nabilone and Marinol are used to relieve sickness in cancer patients who receive chemotherapy (Hall &Degenhardt, 2003; McKim& Hancock, 2013). Pharmacological companies have created several synthetic THC drugs, from which one of those is Dronabinol (Marinol). Marinol is synthetic THC, extracted from marijuana and known to be effective with cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy as well as improving appetite in patients with AIDS. Although effective, Marinol is not as effective as marijuana, because it does not contain nearly 60 other cannabinoids which are additionally present in marijuana. Moreover, patients treated with Marinol report complaints about a delayed onset of its impact and severe intoxicating effects compared to inhaled marijuana. Another entirely synthetic THC, working comparable to Marinol, is Nabilone (Cesamet), which was also approved to treat nausea and vomiting as well as anorexia and weight loss in AIDS patients (Ettinger, 2011).
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...delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, one of the primary active ingredients in marijuana, as an appetite stimulant. The FDA concurs as evidenced by its approval of Marinol, a pill containing a synthetic version of THC, to treat “anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS.”(Center for Health and Pharmaceutical Law 82) “Intraocular pressure (fluid pressure in the eyes) is the most important risk factor for glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness.” (Center for Health and Pharmaceutical Law 84) Diabetic patients form glaucoma in their eyes however, “marijuana lowers intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients.” (Center for Health and Pharmaceutical Law 85)
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...is the history behind Marijuana? I am going to take you on a journey ten thousand years ago in ancient civilization. Marijuana also called Cannabis was used for fiber. The humans in this time period also used the hemp seed for food. It was only natural that they discovered the medical properties of the plant. Cannabis was actually used for a list of reasons such as hemorrhoids, insomnia, headaches, pain, and even childbirth. But that was some time ago. In the 1970’s scientist were able to extract the THC from the plant. Thus making a synthetic version of the plant, and calling it Marinol. Marinol was approved from the Government and the FDA to be prescribed to patients. It was used to treat anorexia in AIDS patients, nausea, and vomiting for patients who are going thru chemotherapy. But patients preferred to smoke the cannabis plant because it would work in minutes, compared to one whole for Marinol. Thompson AJ (May 2003)
How is Marijuana abused? Marijuana abuse comes from recreational use of Marijuana. After a number of times you have used Marijuana your brain develops a mental disorder called Cannabis Dependence. People who use Marijuana for recreational purposes look for high, or the chemical released from the brain called Dopamine. Dopamine is part of the brains reward system, which is generally used for things that taste great such as food and things that feel good such intercourse. When these effects subside the person becomes very hungry, tired, and depressed. ......

...their other pills up to three times a day. Researchers have also found that the marijuana component tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has been shown to slow the disease process in the brain. THC slows the formation of amyloid plaques, the enzyme that kills brain cells and causes Alzheimer’s disease.
While medical cannabis assists patients with Alzheimer’s disease, it can also benefit people suffering from different cancers. The first thing that people think of regarding cancer is chemotherapy. With medical marijuana, the side effects from chemo can be lessened. Nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite can be controlled with the marijuana derivative marinol. If the patients are not receiving chemotherapy treatment, marinol can also assist the patients in the symptoms of cancer, the largest and most common symptom being pain. Either marinol or THC can be prescribed to qualifying patients with severe pain as an analgesic.
The end of life stages is never easy for the grieving family or the patient. As the dying process comes to an end, the patient can have many symptoms. Some symptoms include severe pain, difficulty breathing, and in general severe discomfort. With medical cannabis and the different forms that can be provided, the dying process can be more peaceful for the patient. Inhalants and suppositories can be given to help the unconscious patient. For the aware patient, the capsules can help with pain, appetite, relaxation, and assist with easing any difficulty with......

...Pharmaceuticals, a British phytochemical company, developed several types of tinctures of cannabis to address the needs of multiple sclerosis patients for relief from muscle spasms and pain (Bearman, D. 2011). In 2000, the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) was established at the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine. Studies from CMCR have shown that low-grade cannabis was capable of reducing daily pain by 34%. The findings were comparable to oral synthetic drugs used for chronic neuropathic pain.
In the mid-1980’s, during the “AIDS Crisis”, the United States government encouraged the development and approval of a cannabis based synthetic drug called delta-9-THC, which is marketed under the trade name Marinol. Marinol has been effective in treating nausea in cancer patients and as an appetite stimulant for AIDS patients. Under a generic label, it has been used to treat pain, ADD, and other conditions. It is, so far, the only cannabis based FDA approved pharmaceutical on the market today.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s studies were conducted in California, Georgia, New Mexico, New York, and Tennessee that showed cannabis was effective in the treatment of mental health issues such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
Cannabis is of great benefit to a vast number of people with a wide range of conditions. Tens of millions more would benefit if it were obtainable through......

...and tried to implement medical marijuana laws including Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. Medical marijuana programs are unusual in medical terms. Since marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug, no doctor can write a prescription for it. ...] a doctor can only give a recommendation for marijuana. The early state programs were very limited in scope, often only treating glaucoma or chemotherapy. Most were disbanded after the FDA approved a synthetic form of marijuana, Marinol, in 1986. Marinol, a pill marketed under the name Dronabinol was categorized as a Schedule II substance. While Marinol held promise, it has not lived up to the expectations.
Chantrill, C. (n.d.). Government Debt in the United States - Debt Clock. Retrieved from http://www.usgovernmentdebt.us/
Debt data is from official government sources.
Federal data since 1962 comes from the president's budget....

...which the joint medical and scientific communities conduct certain procedures to determine whether drugs can be considered safe and effective as medicine, and Marijuana has not been approved by this process. The government also insists that Marijuana supporters are using the medical Marijuana “angle” as a ploy to get the whole drug legalized for recreational use, a valid point that definitely stirs up some question. Also, the countries that permit the drug to be used medicinally have not produced conclusive research on Marijuana’s applications in medicine.
Opponents also justify Marijuana’s prohibition with the decision that if the FDA hasn’t approved it, it must be too dangerous to use. They also emphasize the fact that they believe that Marinol, a synthetic form of THC, can be used as an alternative to Marijuana and makes the whole plant unnecessary. After all, certain studies did show that smoking five joints of Marijuana a week may be equivalent to smoking a full pack of cigarettes daily, in terms of the amount of cancer causing chemical Marijuana contains.
Opponents against Marijuana legalization for all purposes believe that it is harmful to the users and therefore should remain illegal. One of the most famous points made by prohibitionists is that Marijuana is a gateway drug and leads to harder drugs. They also argue that Marijuana contains up to 25% of THC today, compared to a miniscule 3% in the 1960s. This clearly indicates an increased potency in the......

...form, they are prescribed the drug to alleviate pain and to increase their appetite.
Pharmaceutical companies have been working on any way possible to extract all the medical benefits of marijuana without using the plant. Since the 80’s a drug called Marinol has been available to patients who are eligible to receive it. Most of the patients using Marinol are either recovering from chemotherapy or living with AIDS. Marinol seems to be hyped up a lot as the alternative to marijuana, but it’s lacking in performance compared to marijuana. Marinol is the synthetic form of THC which pharmaceuticals believed was the main cannabinoid responsible for marijuana’s medical use. But new studies have found out that it’s not just THC, but all the other 66 cannabinoids working together that make marijuana such a strong medicine against certain ailments. Users of Marinol also reported a euphoric high that was too strong and last for longer. That is also a problem because it is much stronger than medical marijuana; its synthetic form has to be taken orally which makes the compound stay active in the body for a couple of hours, unlike smoke marijuana which usually lasts for an hour. It’s humorous to see the governments backing of a drug like Marinol when their whole stance on marijuana is that is has absolutely no medical value, but why spend billions of dollars on something that has no value?
The government’s role towards marijuana has been pretty harsh for the past 80 years. At first......